Soccer Alaska Update

End-of-season tournaments

2010-07-15T14:20:00.001-08:00

Dear Managers,

Soccer Alaska is very excited to be able to combine our end of the season tournament with the Alaska Adult Invitational Tournament held on August 13, 14 & 15 at the Dela Vega complex for Men's A & B as well as Women's B & C. Merging these two events will provide additional games to those teams that would like to play more, against a variety of teams at the same competitive levels from Fairbanks, the Valley, the Kenai Peninsula, Whitehorse and possibly SE Alaska. Unlike previous years, when the league event was made up of single elimination games, the AAIT provides a three game guarantee. Additionally our event was limited to the top 4 teams in each division that chose to compete, while we are opening this tournament to all Men's A & B and Women's B & C teams (the Alaska Adult Soccer Association currently doesn't hold a coed tournament, so we will continue to offer an end of the season contest for that group as well as Men's C). Teams which register for the AAIT must comply with all tournament rules, including the restriction that players are not allowed to play on more than one team. More information on the tournament: http://www.aasa-alaska.com/2010_Alaska_Invitational.html

To account for the end of the season games that were included in the summer fee, we will pay $175 towards the AAIT registration fee of $350 per team. A link has been created to commit your team and pay the $175 for entry into the Adult Invitational Tournament here: http://socceralaska.com/regV3/team_login.php. The deadline to register is Monday, August 2, 2010. Payments will only be accepted via credit card.

For Coed divisions as well as Men's C, we will continue to offer our in-house playoff for the top four teams in each division. These games will take place August 9-14. We operate this playoff on an "opt-in" system, as some teams do not wish to play or have players headed back to school in this time frame. Please check with your team to make sure they are available, as games may be any day this week. To opt-in, reply to this email with your team name and division by August 2, 2010 (there is no additional charge for this option).

As this is a new arrangement, more details will be available in the coming weeks. Please look for additional emails, but in the meantime please start to poll your team to see if they are interested in the appropriate event for your division. Let us know what questions you have!

Take care,

Soccer Alaska Staff

The 30 Referees of World Cup 2010

2010-04-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

When FIFA announced it’s final list of 30 referees for World Cup 2010 in South Africa, the big story was the inclusion Martin Hansson, the Swedish ref who somehow missed Thierry Henry’s handball vs Ireland.

There were 29 other referees on the list though, some of whom are very much aware that for 20 of the 22 men on the pitch, football is a feet only sport. Your full list of 30 World Cup 2010 referees is as follows:

Europe
Olegario Benquerenca, Portugal
Massimo Busacca, Switzerland
Frank De Bleekere, Belgium
Martin Hansson, Sweden
Viktor Kassai, Hungary
Stephane Lannoy, France
Roberto Rosetti, Italy
Wolfgang Stark, Germany
Alberto Undiano Mallenco
Howard Webb, England

South America
Carlos Amarilla, Paraguay
Hector Baldassi, Argentina
Jorge Larrionda, Uruguay
Pablo Pozo, Chile
Oscar Ruiz, Colombia
Carlos Simon, Brazil

Asia
Khalil Al Ghamdi, Saudi Arabia
Ravshan Irmatov, Uzbekistan
Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh, Malaysia
Yuichi Nishimura, Japan

Africa
Mohamed Benouza, Algeria
Koman Coulibaly, Mali
Jerome Damon, South Africa
Eddy Maillet, Seychelles

North, Central America and Caribbean
Joel Aguilar, El Salvador
Benito Archundia, Mexico
Carlos Batres, Guatemala
Marco Rodriguez, Mexico
Australia and South Pacific
Michael Hester, New Zealand
Peter O’Leary, New Zealand

Article from the NY Times about new challenges for turf fields

2010-04-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

Disagreeing About Fields
By CAROL POGASH
The shortage of athletic fields in many Bay Area communities affects the number of children who can play Saturday soccer and has led to nasty turf wars.

In bucolic communities, people protest and sign petitions about the state of the fields. Politicians campaign for solutions. The wealthy donate millions for artificial turf, while critics warn of dire consequences from “grass” that never needs mowing.

Synthetic turf can increase the amount of time a field can be in use because it is impervious to gophers and rain. Proponents, who prefer “synthetic turf” to “artificial turf,” say manufactured fields are costly to buy but cheaper to maintain. Critics argue that artificial grass, especially the type filled with ground-up tires, is potentially harmful. CAROL POGASH

PIEDMONT The number of soccer players has doubled in the past 15 years, and philanthropic soccer parents have promised $8 million to carve two athletic fields, complete with synthetic turf, out of an open hillside. A parking lot, bridge, elevator and a snack bar would also be built.

But opponents say plans are too grand and threaten the health of children and wildlife. They would rather share a field in neighboring Oakland.

Taken aback by the vehemence of the opposition, Eric Havian, president of the Piedmont Soccer Club, said: “We’re not proposing to put a coal <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/coal/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> mine here. We’re talking about a playing field for children.”

Al Peters, a critic and former mayor, is not hopeful. “Money,” he said, “influences decisions.”

SAN CARLOS Only about a dozen people attended a recent City Council <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/city_council_new_york_city/index.html?inline=nyt-org> meeting on city finances. But 200 may show up to talk about synthetic turf. The plan to build two athletic fields with artificial turf has been fought for nine years.

Opponents filed suit last spring insisting on an environmental impact report. “We live in beautiful California where the grass grows green,” said Greg Harris, an opposition leader. He called synthetic grass, with its tendency to heat up in the summertime, “environmentally repulsive.”

But Doug Long, the director of parks and recreation, sees a less-noble motive. “They are using fear of toxicity to hide the fact they don’t want more people driving in their neighborhood,” he said.

The town is proceeding with its plans for artificial turf but has promised that the infill will be made of environmentally friendly coconut husks.

GOLDEN GATE PARK The late Don Fisher, a founder of the Gap, tried to give San Francisco an art museum but gave up because of a development battle. His three sons want to spend $20 million converting existing play fields to artificial turf.

But the Audubon Society <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/audubon_society/index.html?inline=nyt-org> , the Sierra Club <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/sierra_club/index.html?inline=nyt-org> and other organizations argue that the conversion of four grass fields would threaten wildlife and the natural landscape. They seek greater public involvement and an environmental impact report, and they question Mayor Gavin Newsom <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/n/gavin_newsom/index.html?inline=nyt-per> ’s commitment to a green city.

“We are committed to the environmental stewardship of Golden Gate Park,” said Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the Recreation and Parks Department.

2009-10 Season Opening Letter

2009-09-04T17:46:00.001-08:00

Hello players, managers and fans of the game;

We recently explored acquiring private medical and liability insurance for our participants and discontinuing our affiliation with the United States Adult Soccer Association. After much debate, consideration and negotiation, we are pleased to announce our intent to continue our membership with the local board of the (USASA). In addition to re-confirming this relationship, we are also implementing a $5 increase in the Soccer Alaska player fee, to $30 annually. This modest increase will allow Soccer Alaska the autonomy and budget to continue and expand existing in-house programs as well as develop and implement new ones.

We have been diligent in our efforts to not pass along growing operating costs to our membership and yet we are challenged to continually improve the quality of our offering. We have been successful in doing so, especially as it relates to our outdoor playing venues. I’m not sure how many of you remember the moon landscape we called the South Anchorage Soccer Fields, but I believe the various turf venues and Balto Seppala are a pronounced improvement. However, our cost in those days was $30 for each field per day, while our fees now range from $25 to $100 for each venue per hour, depending on the location. Additionally we implemented across the board wage increases for the game officials in 2008 and the Dome has announced a second rate increase since opening its doors, beginning this fall. At the same time we continually upgrade and improve the website and its associated programs to make it more interactive and user friendly. So far we have been able to do more with less. This spring we began offering referee certification courses to Soccer Alaska registered players for free in an attempt to tap into our player pool and increase the number of adult game officials. We will continue this program 2-3 times per year. In addition to placing a greater emphasis on recruitment, we also want to provide referee training opportunities, especially as they relate to adult game management.

Other value added benefits being developed are increased social opportunities, adult skill training and travel assistance for adult teams wanting to attend tournaments outside of Anchorage and Alaska. We are also exploring a telephone answering service and the possibility of leasing office space. There is much we have done and more we will do, but if the $5 per year does nothing more than make you want to scream at an official a few less times, then it is money well spent.

As always, we look forward to your feedback and suggestions, and no, we cannot spend a portion of the funds to renovate the AT&T bathrooms.

Take care,

Klaus
President
Soccer Alaska

Summer Schedules - A few notes

2009-05-22T18:30:00.003-08:00

Those of you who read my blog post about the spring schedules have a general idea of the process, and if you didn't read it, here it is. The summer season presents a few challenges, most prominently managing a variety of different venues and rental agencies. This summer we are playing at seven different venues. Dimond High, Begich Middle, Eagle River Middle, and Chugiak High Schools are all permitted by the Anchorage School District. Balto (two fields) is permitted by the Anchorage District Soccer Federation. Anchorage Football Stadium is permitted by the Municipality, and finally there is the Dome which handles its own permitting and scheduling. Schedules are coming out a bit later than I had hoped this year, but this solely due to waiting for permits.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the schedules this season. I used a new scheduling program for the first time, Round Robin Scheduler 5, which was a great asset as it provided much needed flexibility throughout this week as I tweaked things. I made sure that every team has at least 4 games on turf fields, and most have at least 5. Although only two of our fields are grass (both Balto fields), we are using these five days a week and they account for almost half of our total available field space.

In any case, please take a look at your team's schedule and I hope it will work for you. By no means are they perfect, but they are as fair an equitable as possible. If you have any questions, please direct them to your team manager who can contact me. Let's play soccer!

Referee Clinic for Soccer Alaska Players...Free after rebate!

2009-04-16T08:48:00.004-08:00

Referees are always in short supply in Anchorage, especially adult referees. The situation has gradually improved over the past few years, but there are always open slots, especially in the summer when the goal is to have three referees on every single game.

In conjunction with the local soccer referee community Soccer Alaska is holding a certification clinic exclusively for adult players looking for a new way to contribute to the game. The clinic will be Saturday, May 16 from 9 am - 5 pm at 301 Calista Ct (near Dimond and King St). Participants will be required to pay $80 upfront, which covers the cost of the class as well as a basic referee uniform kit. Once a participant works three Soccer Alaska games, we will send you a check for $80 as a "rebate."

Reffing, even once a week, can provide a decent supplemental income. For outdoor games the minimum game fee is $20 and the maximum is around $60. For indoor, the minimum is also $20 and the maximum is $35. At the conclusion of this class you will be certified as a USSF Grade 9 "Recreational" Referee, and immediately eligible to work Soccer Alaska games.

If you would like to attend, please email info@socceralaska.com with "Referee clinic" as the subject. Questions may also be sent to this email address.

Miscellaneous Updates

2009-03-17T13:48:00.001-08:00

In the last 10 days more than a dozen players have added their info to our site looking for a soccer home. This is a great way to help finish out your team or start bulking up the roster for summer. There are even a few goalies new to the list! It can be accessed here:
http://socceralaska.com/listings/index.php

To help identify forfeits on the website, their will be entered with a score of "00" instead of just 0. Hopefully this helps.

The roster guidelines are being amended to allow a maximum of 3 players from any single team within the same division (it used to be three max, irregardless of team). So now, Team A may have 3 players from Team B and another 3 from Team C. This restriction was originally two-fold--to allow as many players to play given limited field time, and to prevent essentially the same team operating under two names. Because turf is now more widely available, we feel this adjustment is warranted.

If you have any issues with your roster, player registration, or photos, please let me know. I am making sure the photo queue is cleared daily.

An inside look at the scheduling process

2009-03-08T09:28:00.003-08:00

Four times a year my job gets a lot busier for a week or two when all the team registrations come in and subsequently I have to create a schedule for 70-120 teams (86 teams this season). Here's an inside look at the different parts of the process.

Receive allocation of field time. Weeks or even months before a given season begins, we must estimate the number of teams we will have and request appropriate allocations from the facilities (AT&T and the Dome for indoor, Anchorage Parks & Rec and ASD in the summer). A few years ago this allocation dictated the number of teams we could accept, but now that there is more available field time, it has more to do with if we can get "good" hours.

Finalize divisions. Once team registration has closed, we look at all of the team entries to make sure divisions will be competitive. Large divisions (20+ teams) are divided into separate conferences based on past standings history. If there are not enough teams to field a division (usually five), we may combine divisions or come up with some other creative scheduling techniques. Through this entire process, it is our goal to provide the most fair, competitive divisions for all teams.

Note schedule requests. I keep track of all schedule requests and attempt to accommodate them whenever possible. At the same time, I work to keep schedules fair. For example, a request such as "only 7 p.m. games" is not likely to be accommodated, as this is something that most teams would probably appreciate. A more realistic request would be no games on Wednesdays because a lot of the team has players with classes that night.

Creating the schedule. I have been using an automated scheduling program, LeagueUSA's Sports Scheduler 2003 for the past five years or so. Although it's interface is a bit antiquated, it is still one of the best and most powerful scheduling programs on the market. It allows me to specify the maximum number of games per week, minimum number of days between games, block off dates and times for specific teams, and link teams together to prevent them from playing on different fields at the same time. Once all the settings are entered, the program schedules all games and balances different times and venues. Usually it can't quite schedule all games within the given restrictions, which requires me to manually schedule the last few games, overriding some of the restrictions.

Proofing the schedule. Once the schedule is complete, I examine each team's schedule individually to make sure there are no huge issues (i.e. a three week gap or three games in one week). I know that every team's schedule will not be perfect, but my goal is to make sure all schedules are as fair as possible.

Posting the schedule. When the schedule is complete, it is sent to our webmaster who posts it online. I sent the spring schedule in last night, so it should be online in the next day or two!

Nick Stramp
League Administrator

Playoffs - Yes or No?

2009-03-06T08:18:00.004-09:00

The last few times I've had the opportunity for a frosty one and soccer conversations after a hard fought game, the subject of indoor playoffs has come up consistently. Its time we looked at the pros and cons of such an undertaking.

The pros are easily identified. Play-offs would extend the season by at least one game for some teams and oftentimes allow a re-match with an opponent that they would like to play one more time. As in college football, there is no doubt that a play-off system is preferable, especially in divisions that are large enough, where every team may not have had the opportunity to compete against each other. As a player currently participating in the league, I would love to see a division winner determined in such a manner.

However, from a league administration standpoint, play-offs are a nightmare for a number of reasons:

At over $150 per hour for turf time the cost for even a few extra games is substantial. Even a 4-team play-off system would require an additional 3 games, increasing each team fees by $50-$100 depending on the size of the divisions.
If only the top 4 teams qualify, are squads in places 5-10 willing to buck up for their extra games?
Some divisions are small. Do you really want to play the same team a third time?
Turn-around from the last league game to the first play-off game is sometimes only 3-5 days. That doesn't leave much time to submit referee reports, adjust the standings and then based on those standings get the right teams to the right fields at the right time. Step one is the most important. If a referee report isn't filed, scores aren't recorded and standings can't be adjusted. In turn some teams may not be sure where exactly they sit, resulting in....................
The dreaded play-off forfeit. They suck during the regular season, but even more so in tournaments. It is costly and a waste of time for everyone involved.
Ultimately the league is recreational in nature, with an emphasis on the game in a competitive, but relaxed environment, focusing on sportsmanship and camaraderie. The beer is equally as cold and tasty whether we win, or loose and the lies I tell about my quality of play, are the same!

Nick and I are at an impasse. We will continue to include the play-offs in the summertime, because we can circumvent most of the problems, but are hesitant to do so for indoor play. In lieu of the play-offs, is it viable to allow time for an end-of the season tournament after every session, for which those teams that are interested can pay separately? I'm interested in hearing your feedback.

Website Updates

2009-02-17T20:18:00.002-09:00

Checkout some new wiz-bang features on the website. You can view the YouTube USASA Promotional Video and subscribe to our new blog RSS feeds.

2/17 update

2009-02-17T09:30:00.004-09:00

The registration information for the spring season has been posted on our website www.socceralaska.com. This is another 8 week event that will take us through the beginning of May. This session tends to be smaller (around 70 teams), primarily because the youth teams are gone, as they are playing their high school season. If you don't like to chase 16 year olds around the pitch, this session is for you. Traditionally we do not have upper division this time around and play tends to be a little more recreational.

In other news, after 11 years of service, Rod Hill of the city's Parks & Recreation Department has become a victim of government budget cuts. Rod is the person that ultimately allocates the Municipal venues to the various users. This is a huge loss for everyone, including the city. Rod has been able to do, what in the sports environment is a rarity. Be fair and unbiased! Space was divvied up based on previous use and future need, rater than political clout. There is no "plan B" in the Muni for this allocation process and I foresee this spring to be a nightmare, with a number of entities from various sports positioning themselves to receive larger venue allocations, usually more than they require. Nick and I will do what we can to continue to provide improved playing conditions for our membership, but we could be in for a step back, before the Kincaid venue comes online in the summer of 2010.

Lastly, I have heard that there is an attempt by the youth organization to raise the minimum age allowing players to compete in the adult league to 17. At the end of the day, we don't care, but really?? You think forcing U-17 through U-19 divisions to play in their own league, against players who are sometimes 3 years younger is a step in the right direction? First and foremost, the US Soccer bi-laws specify that it is the adult league that creates and implements age restrictions, not the youth. Yes, you can continue to threaten players with sanctions and loss of youth eligibility to enforce the new rule, but why not invest this energy into researching why age divisions beyond the U-15 often times only have 2-3 teams in the state? I say if the system is broken, fix it. Don't implement rules to accommodate it.

2009-01-29T14:41:00.000-09:00

In an effort to develop a referee recruitment program, I met with Scott Helin (Alaska State Referee Administrator) and Lori Stoneburner (President of the Alaska Amateur Soccer Association) last night. As a result of the meeting, I believe that we will create an incentive packet to encourage adult players to take the leap and become referees. Among its features:

The class time will be shortened (grade 9 official)
The class will take place on one Saturday, in early May and will be free
Each new referee will receive a packet containing 2 shirts, shorts, socks, flags and a whistle at no cost
Soccer Alaska will waive player fees for those individuals that certify as officials through this program
The new officials are only committed to doing 10 games throughout the summer, 8 of them with full pay

We will firm up plans for this package in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for updates. As always, have any bright ideas on how to increase our pool of referees? Let me know and we will gladly incorporate them into this program, or start fresh with yours.

2009-01-26T11:34:00.000-09:00

As promised the new toy thing is kicking in, so on to league matters.

I've been getting a few complaints about the referees grabbing their cards just a little too quickly these days, specifically young officials and those that are new to the state. Normally I am completely in the corner of the boys and girls in black/yellow/red/blue and now the very stunning green, but in indoor such a card penalizes your team for a full 4 minutes, which can very much affect a game. Therefore this complaint needs to be looked into.

Unfortunately team management usually requires on the job training, so those of you being officiated by a youngster, please recognize that they are nervous and very little verbal, or physical interaction is required before he/she feels that they have to protect themselves. The experienced ones are a different story. Because of our small referee pool teams and officials meet up many times during the season. In turn, opinions about each other are formed very quickly and carried from game to game. The referee's challenge is to forget what an ass, or hack a player was in a prior game and view each event with complete neutrality. How successful they are in doing that ultimately defines their ability to call a fair and safe game.

As a league president it is paramount to support the officials and their actions during games. But knowing the unique challenges that they face each and every event, specifically as they officiate the same team for the third time in 2 weeks, it seems prudent to keep an open mind and allow for the possibility that the players may not be the problem during a game, but rather the referee's inability to forget their last match. Please don't expect a bunch of card reversals, especially if an ejection took place, but we are open to looking into specific instances of potential referee partiality. We will also continue to work with the Referee's Association to encourage ongoing referee training and develop ways to increase the number of adult officials.

Welcome

2009-01-26T10:53:00.001-09:00

For a while I've threatened to keep the players, managers, coaches and referees of the Soccer Alaska league updated on a more regular basis. Crating a weekly, or monthly newsletter was cumbersome, but I am certain that this blog will do the trick.

Between Nick Stramp, the league administrator, Lisa Short, the web designer and myself, there should be information, news, or tidbits to get out frequently. My goal is to do this on a regular basis, but like a new toy, undoubtedly I will play with this blog quite a bit initially and eventually set into a nice 2-3 times per week routine.

Most importantly, the blog is interactive and a vehicle to provide feedback either on the posts, or ongoing league issues. I'm new enough that I'm not sure if the replies are posted immediately, or can be edited (some may need to be), but we'll find out together.

So, let the games begin.